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2017 Yamaha MT-07 (LAMS) review

I've had my MT-07 for a year now and put 6000ks on it, so it's probably time for a review. The bike was bought new with it's main purpose being a commuter. So far it's been completely reliable with no problems.

With it's wonderful low down torque the bike is excellent in the urban environment. The clutch is a bit heavier than my old Scorpio, but not too tiring in traffic. The fuel tank holds 14L giving the bike a range of just over 300kms, but the fuel warning comes on at around 250kms urging the rider to fill up. The little fuel pump blinks and the kilometres travelled start counting upwards daring the rider to keep going. I usually give in.

The bike runs around 77-81 degrees Celsius when on the move, but will heat up on hot days when stopped in heavy traffic. The cooling fan doesn't come on until 105 degrees, which I find disconcerting, but it's reliable and cools the engine quickly. According to the owners manual the engine temp display goes to 116 degrees Celsius before showing as HI, and the overheating warning light coming on. I fitted a radiator stone guard to my bike which is fantastic for radiator protection, but probably doesn't help when stopped in traffic on a summer's day.

This is my first fuel injected bike and I love the ease of starting. I was initially horrified at the abruptness of the throttle on/off transition but have developed a gentle right hand. I believe fuel is shut off when closing the throttle creating some significant engine breaking.

The ABS brakes seem wonderful to me. The bike can be pulled up very quickly. I have only felt the ABS kick in once at the rear when slowing on gravel strewn tarmac.

The suspension seemed outrageously harsh at first and combined with the touchy throttle had me bucking down uneven roads. With time the suspension seems to have mellowed out and now feels quite comfy in most circumstances. On the open road hitting bumps at speed can have the wheels momentarily leave terra firma, but they soon find land again and the bike doesn't get upset in any way.

The Yamaha still looks almost new with no corrosion and all plastics and paint shiny and bright. I have noticed some small nicks in the coated wheels which I guess are from stones. Having heard about corrosion of the swing arm under the rubbery chain guard, I smeared a bit of grease in there and it still seems fine. If you like your bike all clean and sparkling, I would advise against riding in the rain. The MT-07 looks like vandals have thrown buckets of slush over every surface after a rainy day ride.

This is my first bike with an electronic display and I love it. Everything you need to know is right there and easy to read. I dimmed the display to its minimum brightness because I don't like bright instrumentation at night. The normal functions are easy to navigate around, and the owners manual will tell you how to do the rest.

I have found the seat on this bike to be very comfortable, especially when I push my lardy arse back onto the wider part of the seat. I'm 5 foot 8 and have no trouble putting my feet firmly on the ground. The light weight of the motorcycle makes it a breeze to wheel around and I'm sure the lightness adds to the general ease of handling.

If you are worried about a LAMS bike not having enough power don't be. This bike is very torquey at modest revs and provides good acceleration. I haven't taken the bike up to silly speeds, so I can't tell you how fast it goes, but I'm sure you could go to gaol if you wanted.

In general I'm pretty happy with this bike for the reasonable price paid. It's lots of fun and a good all-rounder. If you are used to faired motorcycles, things will be pretty blowy aboard an MT-07, but if you want a light useful and fun bike, Yamaha's MT-07 would be worth a try.

Cheers for that. I'm trying to get my younger brother to trade-in his 390 Duke for one. They seem to tick every box. So much so that I'm tempted for the high-output model. That noise gives me the horn every time.

As an addendum to my review, I can now add the bike's crash resistance! A few days ago while stopped at a give way, I was run into by a plumber's van. It was a good shunt, but only resulted in a broken number plate light assembly. I always thought that European Union safety stuff about having ugly hangy off bits on the end of your bike was a load of rubbish, but in this case it may have stopped more serious damage. Everything at the back of the bike is flexible, be it plastic or rubberised.

The replacement part was $53.52 and arrived within two days. This came as an entire unit. Looking at the tight wiring and the number of panels to be removed, I cheated. By using part of the remaining unit and the new bulb and housing, I had the whole thing looking stock in twenty minutes.

The driver of the van was very apologetic, but I did notice he seemed to be playing with his phone even as we pulled over to swap details. So, to make myself feel better about the event, here is my light-hearted recounting from his point of view.

(Plumber on phone) Yeah, yeah, ½ inch pipe is no problem.

Vrooom... crash… (tinkling of plastics on road).

(Plumber) Oh shit!

(Customer) What, is the pipe out of stock?

(Plumber) No, no, we have the pipe, I've just driven into a motorcyclist.

(Customer) Why did you do that?

(Plumber) I was talking to you.

(Customer) What? So it's my fault you drove into the motorcyclist?

(Plumber) No, of course not… Oh shit.

(Customer) Who are you calling a shit?

(Plumber) No, no, not you. Oh crap… rude son of a bitch!

(Customer) Don't call me a rude son of a bitch you broken arse pipe boy!

(Plumber) No you're not the rude one, this motorcyclist is gesturing me to pull over… can't he see I'm on the phone!

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I'll be sending him the bill. Hopefully he does the decent thing. Stay safe everyone.